33. What happened in those years

To say the last eight years were eventful would be the understatement of the century.

So much was happening in Hiccup's life, he though at times it was just some crazy dream. eight years ago he and Toothless had slayed the Red Death, the unnatural instigator of their 300-year-long war. Now that it was gone, Hiccup had to prepare for the next great challenge: adapting dragons to Viking society. There were plenty of problems, what with the dragons swiping food from wheelbarrows, crashing through buildings and caving in roofs when landing, and of course the showers of dragon dung that came around the same time every day.

The Silent Wolf were knowledgeable in some part with handling dragons thanks to Hiccup's lessons, but with this many problems and more coming from just as many dragons, they were at their wits' end. Their food supplies were running severely low with so many more mouths to feed, and houses were breaking down faster than they could build them; it was almost as bad as the raids, some thought. Hiccup was overwhelmed with all the complaints and questions he had been bombarded with each day, and Toothless had to wrestle through throngs of Vikings just to get some alone time with his boy.

Thankfully, Hiccup was able to figure out a way to channel their natural wild behavior into more productive ends, and things became that much easier. He assigned groups of new dragon riders out into the seas around Selardalr to help with the fisherman – their fire blasts and ability to fly over to large gatherings of fish allowed them to catch ten times as much as they had before with less than half the work, easily satisfying both species with a near week's catch for both.

Perches made from refined logs with stone supports were built over the houses so the dragons could land safely and securely, and their dragon dung, which was discovered to be an excellent fertilizer, was redirected to fall upon the farmers' crops, resulting in more beautiful harvests with rich tasting vegetables and grains.

The Silent Wolf had so much food on their hands, they hardly knew what to do with it, save for hold a grand banquet in celebration of Hiccup's sheer genius. It was on the night of said banquet that Hiccup decided to announce plans for a Dragon Training Academy, where prospective students could learn more about dragon abilities, behavior, habitats, and of course learning to ride them. Having new dragons brought into the Academy would also warm them up to the idea of human riders and get them more comfortable around the Vikings.

Harold and the Silent Wolfs unanimously agreed to the arena, and set up the Academy in the old Kill Ring, the only place big enough to hold multiple dragons and people. Hiccup and Syn were elected to be the teachers and owners of the Academy, and they had droves of applicants for the first day, including the other teens.

Hiccup was glad beyond measure to see these major steps towards progress, yet he couldn't help but feel empty somewhere inside. It was strange, to say the least, but despite everything that had happened, there was some voice screaming at him in his head saying he needed something more.

It was around the time of his 18th birthday that he discovered what was nagging him so: staring up at the sky with all the different dragons reminded him of the day he had first left Berk with Toothless. He had remembered deciding that the two of them would travel the world seeing everything that there was to see and finding all kinds of new adventures and dragons. It made him realize that the need to explore hadn't left him, and over the course of days it had only grown stronger.

He realized that what he was looking for was something he could truly call his own, that he could devote his entire soul to. He wanted to protect the new peace he had created with his own hands and create a place that he and all his loved ones could consider a home. He had had a long discussion with Harold about it, wondering based on Harold's strong reluctance if the chief had developed some kind of personal connection to him, and Syn was even more reluctant once she had heard about it.

Eventually, they came around to the idea to some degree once they saw how badly Hiccup wanted to do this. A boy needed to broaden his own horizons, Harold said, and so he helped Hiccup prepare his supplies for a long trip.

Hiccup said he would be gone for about two years, but he swore he would return. That promise, everyone figured was most likely made to Syn specifically, who was about ready to tie Hiccup to her house to keep him from leaving.

He decided to take Alvis with him, wanting to share the world's majesty with his son as he promised, even if the child wouldn't remember it. Hiccup remembered the big sendoff he and Toothless had been given, a huge gathering in the village's square with dragons giving him fond nuzzles that Toothless had to drag him away by the shirt from Vikings who gave him pats on the shoulder and slaps on the back, making him swear to tell them all about his travels once he returned. With their wishes of good luck and his promise to them that he would indeed return, they set off, gods only knew where they would end up.

Hiccup's travels over the two years took him to several exotic places, with all manner of different cultures and people, everything so new and different, right down to the food they ate and clothes they wore.

There were lands with tall, spire like buildings with pink blossoms on the trees, places with buildings made of stone, including massive castles, places covered entirely in sand with buildings risen from the earth itself, and more.

And the dragons, so many dragons.

He had seen dragons with long whiskers and manes of fur who could manipulate the weather to form rain showers gusts to benefit the crops of farmers.

There were dragons that could emit colorful streams of fire and appeared to dance as they flew through the sky.

There were even human-shaped dragons who could wield fire in their claws as well as with their breath, and carried a greater knowledge than anything Hiccup though possible. In several lands he met each of these creatures, studying them, interacting with them, learning from them, even befriending them. Dragons from all over the world were willing to swear allegiance to him and follow him wherever he went. By his very nature, he seemed to truly be a master of dragons.

The people, once they had come to witness this, would come to either fear or worship him as a god, even fighting each other to ensure he got the respect he deserved. The struggle to ensure wars were not fought on his behalf was very real, he recalled with some humor.

Hiccup had experienced several adventures in the course of his travels – he conquered another dragon comparable to the Red Death and freed an entire country from its tyranny, traveling through a whole continent and seeing multiple towns and cities along the way, and joining the Royal Guard of a kingdom and partaking in missions to defend its borders. He lived in a village where homes were built in the trees, found libraries filled with numerous records of worldly knowledge, and perhaps most importantly, opened so many people's eyes to the wonders of dragons.

He in turn had learned everything from combat to philosophy, to blacksmithing to advanced academics and leadership tactics. Each place had some new take on a subject, and considering it from every point of view, opening his eyes to the limitless possibilities on drove Hiccup ever further. It was all amazing in Hiccup's view, almost enough to keep him and his companions moving forward to the end of the world itself, seeing all there was to see. What he wouldn't give to be able to explore until the day he drew his final breath.

All his teachers were nothing short of astounded at the sheer level of determination he had shown in his days of training. His fierce dedication to his goal had allowed him to master fighting techniques, levels of arithmetic and sciences, and forging styles that others took weeks to learn in days, advancing quicker than most of his peers. He had probably attributed it to the limited amount of time he gave himself, but others pointed towards the fact that in those days he would train and develop proficiency and skill up to the point where his body and mind threatened to break. Toothless and Alvis were both concerned at his pushing beyond his limits, but at the same time were brimming with pride every time they saw him.

Still, he had another life waiting for him, and he knew he couldn't turn his back on it: in fact, his time in these foreign lands had inspired all sorts of improvements for the village. Various new ideas for renovation leading to more comfortable lives and for weapons for himself, and he couldn't wait to try them out. Nor could he wait to show everyone his new skills.

Eventually, they had returned to Selardalr, to the surprise of everyone when they had seen him with another whole army of dragons from across the world. It was a warm reunion, and Hiccup was happy to see that everything had somehow managed to hold together. The dragons had kept their behavior together and several new pairs of dragons had been made, especially among the younger generation.

Everyone was utterly fascinated by all the treasures he had brought from the distant lands, and were enthralled by the stories of where he had been and what he had seen. It was a true relief for the several worlds he had seen and been a part of to come together so easily, the dragons from the distant lands getting along well with the dragons of his homeland. Now he could set into motion all that he had planned for the future, and it turned out to be a bright future indeed.

His former title of 'Hiccup the Useless' had been all but forgotten, now he was known to the people of Selardalr as 'Hiccup the Dragon Whisperer.' The man who could call out and thousands of dragons would heed him and charge into battle on his command, who could bend dragons to his will with a single outstretched hand.

Twenty-three years old now and nowhere to go but up, Hiccup had risen from what he once was and stood to achieve true greatness, more so than any before him. As one with the dragons, one with his no longer crazy, mixed up feelings, Hiccup felt alive for the first time, and finally happy.

Hiccup had to wonder, looking back at it all, how it was all possible for the incompetent little hiccup he used to be. Runts like him never made it far in life before they ended up biting the dust. Obviously no one had any faith in him from the beginning, but now Berk and all the pain it brought him was nothing but a distant memory or a disillusioned nightmare.

Now Hiccup had a beautiful wife named Syn, married to her for the last two years and still so very much in love with each other. Ever since that night they first kissed, Hiccup had never felt so empowered or energetic – he guessed that was a typical man thing, feeling like you could touch the sky or walk on water once you got kissed. She was his number one supporter when he had first started up the Dragon Academy, and writing the Book of Dragons 2, telling all about dragon training secrets and the best way to befriend and raise each species. The book became their primary teaching tool for most of their classes, and new additions were constantly being added based on their lessons.

When Hiccup came back from his long trip, admittedly she was pretty sore at him, refusing to talk to him for weeks, no matter how much he pleaded and pestered her. Girls really didn't like it when a guy hung them out to dry, another hard lesson about relationships he had to learn.

Still he couldn't help but notice her staring at him from time to time, unable to resist how jaw-droppingly attractive he had become. It was when several other girls their age started making moves of their own that she stepped up, dragging him out into the woods again. It was an awkward and uncomfortable conversation, filled with shouting, but they eventually forgave each other, and picked up the pieces from there.

She understood why he did it and why he felt he had to do it, no matter how much it hurt her to see him go, but she came to realize it didn't matter anymore now that he was back. They had managed to fall in love with each other all over again, although they had to keep their relationship a secret, Hiccup being unsure how anyone would react. It was going fine until Raoul had somehow managed to find out about it, probably by spying, Hiccup figured, and started spreading rumors and gossip, which passed along to Harold eventually.

Hiccup thought he was as good as dead right then and there, but managed to breathe again when Harold more or less approved of their relationship, at least, once they had an open discussion about it. From then on, people started to respect the young couple, and came to celebrate the day when they had gotten married; even Harold joined in, as uncomfortable as he was. But that was just his fatherly concern, no dad wanting to let their little girl go; Hiccup saw those kinds of feelings during several of the weddings he was invited to.

Things were going great for the young couple since, and had only gotten even better the moment Hiccup discovered Syn was pregnant with their first biological child. He couldn't wait for the day their child was born, which was sure to be any day now.

Of course, even the promise of having a new child could never make Hiccup forget about his first, Alvis, who had grown up to be quite the energetic young boy. He loved playing around with all the dragons and kids his age, the former hostility and hate of his elders an unknown concept for him. Having traveled with his father and Toothless throughout the world and seeing Hiccup grow had turned out to be a very positive experience for him, developing the intelligence his adoptive father had. Then, coming back to see what Hiccup had accomplished before they had departed while he was still a baby and hearing of his struggles and sacrifices left him seeing Hiccup in a new way.

Alvis had always loved his father, but now he outright idolized him – Hiccup was his greatest hero, and it always made Hiccup's heart warm when he heard his child say he wanted to be just like him when he grew up. Hiccup had made sure to give him all the attention and affection that his father had failed to give him, and with his eighth birthday now coming up, he had to find some way to top the other six.

And if that wasn't enough for the young man, Hiccup now had many friends among Selardalr, namely the other teens that came to his rescue right years ago at the nest. Now they all had dragons of their own, and he loved having them as part of his classes at the academy. They were all loyal to their riders, of course, but every dragon on the island followed and obeyed him and Toothless without question or doubt. To the dragons, they were known as the Saviors, their twin alphas and protectors, and a debt of gratitude from a dragon was a very serious thing indeed.

Everything was going great, up until one day: Harold had announced that he was planning to retire from his position as chief, and he had already chosen a successor.

Him.

It seemed Hiccup was going to be the chief of a tribe after all, though he had to admit, it came as a massive shock to him at first. From shock of course, came those old cold feet again; Hiccup didn't think he was chief material, against everyone else's opinion. By now, a vast majority in the village thought he would make the perfect chief: regardless of his reservations he had really proven himself with everything from his training dragons to training himself to recreating Selardalr as they knew it by now.

In fact, Raoul was really the only one who complained about it, since everyone had been talking about him being chief before Hiccup even arrived, and he certainly wasn't blind to having been losing favor ever since. He had been the number one prodigy, and he wasn't ready to lose it all to some outsider, even if he was a big time hero/celebrity, but that was to be expected, although he did let it go eventually once he had gotten to bonding with his own dragon and matured over the time.

Even with everyone and everything now on his side, Hiccup still had reservations about the whole thing; being chief didn't matter to him, in fact he hardly saw himself as a leader, having meetings, solving daily problems, it just didn't seem right. All he really needed was his family, his wife, son, and Toothless – and with them he knows that he could conquer anything.

TO BE CONTINUED~~